Purpose This study aims to analyze the literature on knowledge management on intellectual capital, social capital and its contribution to Iranian companies’ innovation. Design/methodology/approach To investigate knowledge management’s relationship on intellectual capital, social capital and innovation, using structural equation modeling based on data collected from 205 chief executive officers, production managers and marketing managers of Iranian companies. The research instrument is a standard questionnaire consisting of 109 questions in which 5 of them are demographic questions, 26 questions were asked to reveal the knowledge management process, 40 questions for intellectual capital, 21 for social capital and 17 for innovation. Findings The results show that knowledge management has a positive and significant relationship between intellectual capital and social capital. Knowledge management did not have a significant effect on innovation. However, intellectual capital and social capital have a significant effect on innovation. On the other hand, knowledge management mediated by intellectual capital and social capital has a positive and significant indirect effect on innovation. Originality/value The paper includes the implications for developing knowledge management and intellectual, social capital leading to innovation in manufacturing companies. Knowledge management can improve the innovation performance of a company if it is shared and applied effectively. This study addresses an important subject and the findings may be used by professionals and managers or another person interested in advancing knowledge management that leads to innovation.

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Background: Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) is an effective treatment for disc herniations; but some studies demonstrated that in the untreated levels adjacent to a fusion, increased motion might lead to an increased risk of adjacent segment degeneration (ASD). On the other hand, methods of cervical Disc Arthroplasty (CDA) have improved. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the rate of ASD in patients who underwent ACDF or CDA cervical spine surgery.Methods and Materials: This prospective study was performed on 84 patients with cervical radiculopathy due to single-level disc herniation referred to hospitals in Tehran, Iran from June 2011 to December 2012. All subjects were randomly allocated to Group A or Group B to undergo ACDF or CDA, respectively. The validated Neck Disability Index (NDI) questionnaire was used to assess the cervical neck pain.Results: The mean of age in Group A was 51.7 ± 9.1 years and in Group B was 49.3 ±9.2. The differences in cervical radiculopathy in the two groups were not statistically significant. The difference in mean Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score in the two groups at each assessment time was statistically significant. Mean NDI score before the surgery was 46.9 ± 6.1 in group A, and 41.3 ±4.7 in group B. The mean NDI score improved significantly in group B. Twenty-seven of the patients in Group A experienced ASD at 12 months compared to one patient (2.3%) in Group B (p<0.05).Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, CDA leads to reduced VAS and NDI score compared to ACDF. Also increased ASD in ACDF was demonstrated when compared with CDA after 1-year follow-up.

Background: Early detection of appendicitis has always been a challenge and essential to minimize the risk of injury and rupture and more complications. Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid's diagnostic accuracy in the early detection of appendicitis. Method: Spot urine specimens were collected from 114 patients with appendicitis and 34 healthy controls. According to the kit manufacturer's protocol, urinary biomarker level 5- HIAA was determined by the ELISA method. Descriptive statistical methods were used to describe the variables. A significant level was considered 0.05. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of the urine 5HIAA test for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis at the cut-off point of 8.15% were 31.2% and 85.25%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 83.3% and 34.5%, respectively. Also, the overall accuracy of the test was 47.36%. (Kappa equal to 0.11, P = 0.066). Conclusion: The present study results showed that measurement of urinary 5HIAA level is not a suitable diagnostic tool to rule out or determine acute appendicitis. Keywords: 5HIAA, Detection of Acute appendicitis, Urine